Two Can Keep A Secret
by Silver Clouds
Summary: Sequel to Fighting the Social Classes.     What happens when a Greaser and a Soc marry in secret? Can they keep their relationship from their family, friends and classmates or will something happen that will alter their happy lifestyle?
1. Chapter 1

Ding! Ding! Ding!

A small groan escaped his lips as Darrell Curtis rolled over in his bed, his eyes parting slightly as he tried to block out the light from the rising sun. It was six o'clock in the morning which meant it was time to get up for work and get his younger brothers up for work and school.

Sighing, Darry allowed himself to rest a few more moments before rolling out of bed and getting up. He shuffled towards his bathroom, starting the shower before heading slowly towards the room his two younger brothers shared.

Pushing aside the door, Darry wandered in, noticing Ponyboy first. Smiling slightly at his youngest brother's attempts at keeping out the sun, he reached over and took the pillow off of Pony's head before hitting him with it. "Get up, Pony, it's time for school," he yawned, listening to his brother's reply, which was broken up by a yawn.

"Come on, Pony, get up," Darry continued, heading over to the other side of the bed before freezing. "Hey, Pony?"

"What is it, Darry?" Pony muttered, yawning as he sat up in the bed, his eyes still closed.

"Where's Soda?"

"What you mean?"

"Where's Sodapop?"

"I' unno…" Pony replied, stretching as he got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. "Maybe he left early to get Steve.."

Darry, who found this response a bit unbelievable, merely nodded his head slowly. If there was one thing he knew it was that Sodapop could handle himself.

* * *

><p>The cold air hit against his face as Sodapop stood silently under a tree, his eyes watching the Valance house intently. He had called Cindy the night before, making certain she'd be able to sneak out early enough for them to walk together, yet, as he watched a few lights flicker on upstairs, he was beginning to think she'd be unable to make it.<p>

Sighing slightly, he rubbed his hands together, feeling that they were becoming number by the minute.

"Well, hey handsome," a voice called from behind him, causing a smile to spread across his lips.

Turning around, it took him less than a minute to have Cindy in his arms, something he had missed for the past three days.

"I missed you," he whispered after a few minutes, backing away slowly before looking down into her eyes. He was unable to control the rapid beating of his heart as he felt Cindy's hand take his, squeezing it lightly.

"I missed you too. You had a good Christmas?"

"It was good," he replied, leading her slowly away from her house and towards the direction of the high school.

"Just good?"

"Would've been better with my wife around," he joked, his eyes flashing towards her face, causing her to blush lightly.

"I like the sound of that."

"Me too…"

Cindy nodded slowly, her thoughts recalling the events that had happened previous to Christmas. It had all been like a dream come true but now…now it was going to get hard. How was she supposed to pretend to not be wildly in love with Sodapop, the guy she had married secretly?

"You aight?"

Coming from her thoughts, Cindy smiled, nodding slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," she replied, finding that they had stopped in front of the high school. Looking up at the front doors, she sighed. This was where they parted. This was the main place that separated her from him – she was a student, he was nothing but a DX worker.

Shaking the thought from her mind, Cindy leaned over, kissing his cheek gently, noticing the look that had appeared on his face. "I'll see you later?" she questioned.

Sodapop nodded slowly, his eyes looking towards the school, his thoughts cascading rapidly through his mind. "Yeah."

"Hey, Sodapop…"

"Yeah?"

"I love you," Cindy whispered, bringing his face towards hers before placing a soft kiss against his lips. "Don't flirt too much at the station now," she teased, giving him a small wink before she headed towards the front of the school.

Laughing slightly as he watched her walk off towards a group of her friends, Sodapop shook his head. How was he supposed to make this work? It was hard enough dating her in secret, now he was married to her. His brothers didn't know. His friends didn't know. Her family didn't know. Worst of all, no one knew, which meant that she was an object of most guys' affections.

Feeling his blood begin to boil, Sodapop tried to force the thoughts from his mind as he walked toward the DX station. Unfortunately, all the while, he couldn't help but feel that maybe they had made a mistake in eloping.


	2. Chapter 2

As Cindy entered the school building, she felt the smile leave her lips almost instantly. Her eyes flashed to either side of her as she walked along the hallway, attempting to not make eye-contact with anyone. She could only imagine the rumors that were going around about why she was out of school so long.

Shaking her head slightly at the thought, she stopped in front of her locker and turned the dial, muttering the code under her breath. Listening to the lock undo itself, she began to rifle through her books, listening to approaching footsteps. Taking a deep breath as she heard the footsteps stop beside her, Cindy closed the door slightly, smiling softly as she looked at her cousin.

"Hey, Sherri."

Cherry smiled at her cousin as she leaned back against the locker beside Cindy's. Her eyes glanced toward her cousin before she looked down the hallway, watching to see who was approaching them. Seeing that no one was coming, though, she turned her complete attention back to her cousin.

"How're you feeling?"

"I'm good…nervous," Cindy replied with a small laugh, hoping that it sounded more natural then faked. To be completely honest, she was more than nervous. It felt as if she was starting all over at a new school again.

"Don't worry," Cherry said, reassuringly as she listened to her cousin close the locker door. "Everything's going to be fine. It's not as if anyone really knows what went on."

Cindy, despite herself, couldn't prevent herself from asking the question she had been wondering about all last night. "What do people think happened?"

A strange look passed over Cherry's face, one Cindy knew meant that she was not at all interested in continuing on the topic. However, unable to side-track from it, Cherry simply sighed. "They think you had to go away to visit a few sick relatives. That's all."

"That's all?"

Cherry nodded, smiling as she moved away from the locker. She had seen her escape from the conversation at hand – Bob and Marcia. "Come on, Cindy, it's in the past. What's done is done. Now, you just have to realign yourself, you know? Just get back into the swing of things and don't" – she paused here, looking sternly at her cousin – "get involved with the Greasers again. I know they're great guys, but what happened was bad enough. We don't need another repeat and the safest way is to stay away from them, completely…"

Cindy looked at her, her shock evident on her face.

"Sherri."

Cherry merely shook her head, though. Her mind was set. She was not interested in reliving the same accident again and in her mind, and in everyone else's that knew, the Greasers were the ones to blame.

As the thought passed through her mind, she allowed a smile to reappear quickly on her face as Bob and Marcia came to a stop before them. It was odd seeing Bob again, after all she had stopped talking to him five months back because of his constant drinking and fighting. That, though, had changed…or so she hoped.

"Hey, good to see you back," Bob stated, nodding towards Cindy, who appeared to be still lost in her own thoughts.

Cindy looked over at him, smiling politely as she spotted Ponyboy walking along the hallway. Keeping her eyes focused hard on the group before her, she forced a soft laugh from her lips, "It's great to be back. I see I haven't missed much," she stated, indicating Bob's arm, which had snaked around her cousin's waist.

Cherry smiled and shrugged as Bob merely nodded, his eyes flashing dangerously in the direction of Ponyboy, who had turned his attention momentarily towards the group. "Keep walking, Greaser!" Bob hissed, his tons deadly as he watched Pony stiffen slightly in response.

Both Cherry and Cindy could see that Ponyboy was fighting hard to control his temper. It wasn't abnormal for him to be called out by the Socs, however, it was abnormal for him to have to listen to it around the Valance cousins. He had assumed, over the past few months, that they were all on good terms. That was a mistake.

Merely rolling his eyes, Ponyboy continued on his way to his homeroom class. Cindy made a small motion to follow him but felt her cousin's sharp gaze on her. Resisting the urge, Cindy merely turned back to the group, talking lightly with Bob and the rest before the bell rang, signaling it was time for classes to begin.

Sodapop rested beneath the black convertible, his eyes moving along the parts as he debated on what was wrong with it. Undoing a part, he slid out from under the car, heading towards the back of the shop where a few spare parts were. Shifting through them, he heard the door of the room open and heard the loud cursing of his best friend.

Laughing to himself, Soda continued on with what he was doing, not bothering to acknowledge Steve as he kicked violently at the nearest wall. After this outbreak, Soda was unable to prevent himself anymore; turning around, he looked at his friend, raising his eyebrows.

"What's with you?"

Steve allowed a few more curse words to escape his lips, all of which Soda was able to understand "Soc…cops…dead…"

"Got caught?"

"Hell yeah them…."

Soda merely turned Steve out at the overflow of curse words that escaped his lips. Figuring that the hubcaps his friend was going to swipe had been a good deal, Soda could understand the frustration and the hatred his friend was feeling. However, Steve had been risky enough to attempt it in the middle of the afternoon.

"Who's tires?"

"That Soc that's been houndin' Johnny."

"With the rings?"

"Yeah, he was comin' out of school and right there he pulls that blade and asks me what the hell I thought I was doin'."

"And?"

"I told him I ain't gonna back down from him and his gang of friends."

"Why didn't you?" Soda pressed, figuring it was simply best to ask Steve enough questions until his temper boiled down.

"Witnesses."

Sodapop laughed, tossing the broken car part into the garbage. "You'll get'em next time."

"We gonna get 'em."

Soda stopped, glancing over his shoulder at his best friend.

"What?"

"We gonna drag race."

Soda couldn't prevent the grin that appeared on his face, nodding in agreement. "I'm in."

"I knew you'd be."

Soda laughed, nodding towards the car he had been puzzled by all day. "Go and look at that."

Steve merely smirked, heading towards the car before he slid beneath it. Soda, as he listened to his friend tinkering away at the automobile, allowed his thoughts to go off in their own direction, a direction that led him to being half excited about the race and half confused on how to tell his brothers and Cindy.


	3. Chapter 3

The feeling of his hand holding hers, keeping her safe from the world they both lived in was the only thing on Cindy's mind as she sat quietly in her desk. She couldn't help but feel the eyes glancing towards her and she couldn't ignore the sound of whispering voices as they filled the air every time she glanced over her shoulder, but the truth of the matter was she didn't really care. She knew what had happened for that month or so that she was out of school and she knew that whatever rumor that was flying around school had to be a lot better than the reality of what she had lived.

Finding refuge in this thought, Cindy sank down slightly in her chair as the teacher's monotone voice floated through the air, silencing the whispering voices of the gossiping students. As she settled in for another long day of educational direction, Cindy attempted to keep her mind on her studies. She had to make up for all the things she had missed before the holidays yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep her mind off Sodapop.

What was he doing now?

Was he thinking about her?

Was he flirting with girls as the DX station in an attempt to get a few new clients?

Biting down on her lower lip as the last thought cascaded through her mind, Cindy sighed. The idea of him even smiling at another girl formed a knot in her stomach. He was hers. That was how she wanted it to stay, even if the rest of the world had no idea that they were romantically linked forever by marriage.

Trying to keep her thoughts on this positive note, Cindy was unaware that her class and ended until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Glancing up, she smiled some at Cherry who was looking down at her in concern.

"Everything okay?" she asked, her eyes piercing into her cousin's soul.

In the back of her mind, Cindy knew that she couldn't lie her way out of this situation. Eventually Cherry would discover that she had eloped with Sodapop and then the true fireworks would begin. Everything that she had done to keep things civil between herself and her relatives would have been for nothing…

Deciding, though, that that moment of truth was not right then, Cindy forced a smile onto her face and nodded. "Yeah, just tryin' to get used to things again," she replied as she rose from her desk and left the classroom.

As she entered into the hallway, the sound of whispering voices filled the air once more. She could hear the rumors flying through the hallway as she walked by. Some believed she had been sent away by her relatives because they hadn't wanted her. Others believed she had been given some type of disease that had to be cured quickly before she died. Others still believed she had gotten pregnant and had taken care of the baby in ways that no one could readily explain.

As the rumors flew, she couldn't help but feel her footsteps quickening as she headed towards the grounds. The moment the doors flew open in front of her, Cindy stepped out onto the green grass and took a deep breath, taking in all the fresh air that had been withheld from her while she was confined to a stuffy classroom.

Unaware of where she was going, Cindy made her walk along the grounds and fell back beneath a tree, the same tree she had had lunch with Ponyboy during her first week at the school. Sighing slightly as she rested against the dewy grass, Cindy leaned back against the rough trunk, her eyes closing as she attempted to regain her composure.

How was she supposed to face everyone when they thought she had been sent away for some sort of therapy? How was she supposed to hold her head up high when people rejected the idea that she had been visiting others? Biting down on her lower lip, she slowly began to regain her composure before pushing the negative thoughts completely from her mind.

She was okay.

She would be fine.

Everyone would forget everything within a few days or weeks…

As the comforting thoughts began to take effect, Cindy opened her eyes and looked around, trying to determine which part of the day it was. She knew, for a majority of the day, that she had been lost in her own thoughts and had been merely going through the motions and now, as she watched Cherry walk towards her with Bob, she understood exactly what time of day it was—lunchtime.

Forcing a smile onto her lips as Cherry took a seat across from her; she gratefully took the sandwich that her cousin offered her before looking towards Bob. When had they fixed things? Had she really been that busy with her own secret life that she hadn't realized what was going on?

"So you had a rough day?" Cherry questioned, bringing Cindy from her thoughts. Cindy merely shrugged in response as she took a bite of the sandwich, not really sure what she should say in response.

Picking up on the subtle hint that she didn't want to discuss her day, Cherry unwillingly dropped the topic before glancing towards Bob. She studied his expression for a few moments before attempting to start a conversation with him instead.

"Everything going okay? You disappeared after first hour," she stated, a small hint of accusation hidden in her tone.

Bob glanced at her, nodding slightly in response as he reached for an apple that had been placed in his lunch. "Had to deal with something."

"Oh? What?"

"Some Greasers were tryin to slash my tires," he replied indifferently, his tone taking on a coldness that Cindy and Cherry had never heard there before. "So I challenged them to a drag race. Gonna beat them once and for all," he continued matter-of-factly.

At the mention of Greasers, Cindy was brought from her thoughts; her eyes flashed towards Bob, a look of curiosity evident within them before she caught sight of Cherry's face. The expression there told her everything: don't speak about it. Let it go.

Therefore, Cindy turned back to her sandwich and took another bite. She wasn't going to willingly disobey her cousin's wishes at the moment, mostly after everything Cherry had done for her in the past few weeks. Instead, she forced herself to endure her own curious thoughts that haunted her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

The sound of crickets chirping was the only sound that he could here as Sodapop sat quietly outside on the porch. His eyes focused on the fireflies that shot through the darkness, their flickering lights appearing on and off with each breath that he took. It was amazing how many things he could notice in the evenings when he wasn't focused on deceiving his family and his friends. It had been awhile since he had even been able to sit on the porch without worrying who would walk by and overhear his conversations with Cindy. Yet now that she was back in school and the holidays had ended things would be different. They wouldn't have as much time together. They wouldn't have as many late night conversations or midnight adventures. Instead, they'd most likely not see much of each other unless it was in response to car troubles or something of the sort.

The idea of having to resort to such things had originally put a damper on his spirit; after all he had gone through such lengths to make certain that they could be happy together as a married couple. Yet now he was somewhat relieved that he wouldn't have to see her tonight. There was no way he could lie to his brothers in a few moments and then lie again to her in regards to the drag racing. It would have been impossible.

Almost as if his brothers knew he had been thinking about them, Sodapop heard the sound of Darry's truck driving towards the house before the engine was shut off. He could hear both of them arguing about something that had happened earlier in the day but he had no interest in finding out just what it was. All he knew was that he didn't want them both in this mood when he had to say what he had to say.

Rising from the porch, he laughed some, watching them both as they stopped at the bottom of the steps, their arguing preventing them from seeing that they had a spectator.

"You two gettin' along still I see," Soda called, a smile on his face as he jumped from the top of the porch and landed in front of them. The sound of his footsteps hitting the concrete made enough noise to silence his brothers for a moment before they both turned to glare at him in annoyance and disapproval.

Forcing a smile to remain on his lips as he looked at them both, Sodapop reminded himself that he needed them on their best behavior before he could talk to them about the drag racing. It wasn't as if they minded drag racing as a sport but they had both expressed their dislike in him drag racing since the incident with his car during the last race.

Ignoring the glares that they both continued to send in his direction, Sodapop continued to urge himself on mentally as he took a few steps back towards the porch. Stepping onto the bottom step, he smirked, nodding towards the house. "I made dinner, its normal," he stated, watching as his brothers exchanged a glance before following him into the house.

As they all entered into the building, Soda was thankful for the silence. He knew that both of them had to be mulling over what possible motive he could have in making dinner and interrupting their fight, but he didn't care. As long as they were cooling off then nothing would be a problem. Deciding to keep his thoughts on this positive aspect, he headed towards the kitchen and returned, putting the dinner on the table before sitting back in his spot between his brothers.

The silence continued through the majority of dinner before Darry dropped his fork on his plate, his eyes flashing towards his younger brother as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "What you plannin'?" he asked, his tone explicitly stating to Soda that he wouldn't be able to avoid the topic any longer. When Darry wanted to know something then Darry wanted to know then.

Glancing between his brothers, for Pony had put down his fork as well, Soda grinned good-naturedly at them, hoping it'd ease the impact. "Steve and I are drag racin next weekend," he stated, letting it all come out instead of steadily working up to it. As he let the statement sink in, he prepared himself for the remarks that would come from his brothers. Instead, he heard a statement that took he by surprise.

"Why?"

Turning to his gaze to Darry he shrugged slightly. "Socs was messin' with Steve and they challenged us to a race so we goin'," he replied casually. "It ain't gonna be nothin' big."

Darry nodded slowly, studying his younger brother's face. "You and Steve versus the Soc only?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Cops come you run," Darry stated, pushing his chair away from the table. Grabbing his dishes he headed towards the kitchen and a few moments later Soda and Pony could hear the sound of glass falling into the sink. Turning his gaze to Ponyboy, Sodapop waited to hear what his younger brother had to say; instead, he only received a slight shrug from his brother before he too got up and brought his dishes into the kitchen.

As the room fell silent once more, Sodapop sighed in relief as he slumped back in his chair. Somehow he had gotten lucky that evening with his brothers. Now all he had to do was hope Cindy would understand when he told her.

* * *

><p>The light from the street lamp outside drifted in through her window as Cindy sat quietly on her bed. The whispering voices from earlier filled her mind as she sighed, her teeth digging into her lower lip. How was she supposed to go through another day of gossiping tomorrow? How was she supposed to pretend that everything was okay?<p>

Feeling as if she was never going to be able to understand the answers, she laid back on her bed, her eyes flickering towards the phone as she debated on calling Sodapop. True, she knew she couldn't tell him about everything that had happened, but at least she'd be able to hear his soothing voice. As this positive aspect of the situation took root in her mind, she reached over, picking up the phone before the door to her room opened.

Dropping the phone quickly back down, she sighed in relief as she spotted Cherry coming into the room. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she smiled some as she watched her cousin sit on the bed beside her.

"What were you doing?" she asked, her gaze shifting between Cindy and the phone before back to her cousin.

Cindy shrugged slightly, "Thinking about calling Sodapop."

"It's late."

"I know," she replied, sighing as she laid back on her bed once more. As she allowed the silence to grow between them, her mind moved to other thoughts that had been bothering her for a few hours. "Sherri, do you think Soda's one of the Greasers in the drag race?" she asked after a few moments, her eyes turning to look at her cousin.

Shaking her head, Cherry smiled softly at her. "He wouldn't do something like that again. His brothers wouldn't let him," she replied reassuringly as she laid down beside her cousin. "Besides, he wouldn't do anything that'd cause you to worry," she continued, hoping that her voice was more comforting than she felt.

Nodding slowly, Cindy smiled softly as she closed her eyes, listening to her cousin's response. "Your right, Sherri…" she replied quietly, her mind slowly changing to other topics as she allowed herself to drift off into a light slumber.

Next to her, Cherry watched as her cousin fell asleep, her breathing becoming shallower by the minute. As she watched her, she made a mental note to talk to Ponyboy the next day to find out if Soda was truly a part of the drag race and if he was, what it would take to make him drop the race.


End file.
